The Affordable Care Act expanded coverage, which sent more people to primary care physicians instead of costly emergency rooms. Hospitals would still be required to care for those who lose Medicaid coverage or private insurance, leaving them or the states to cover the cost.

The GOP plan would scale back the Medicaid expansion and take away direct federal subsidies to help consumers pay their health insurance premiums, replacing them with age-adjusted tax credits.

The American Hospital Association, representing nearly 5,000 institutions nationwide and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the nation's largest not-for-profit health provider, warned Congress that the bill would lead to significant cuts in a program that provides services to the most vulnerable.